SC Senate moves to oust leader of public health agency. Here’s what we know

South Carolina’s public health agency may be without its leader in May, if a bill unanimously passed in the state Senate becomes law.

After the restructuring of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Edward Simmer to lead the health agency in 2024.

A Senate committee rejected his confirmation last year. Simmer has served as a temporary director since, overseeing the state’s response to the measles outbreak in the Upstate and other public health efforts.

Now, a Senate bill would force Simmer out of the top job. The amended bill, which changes how and when the governor can make appointments to agencies and boards, would declare the Department of Public Health’s director office vacant May 14, 2026, and the governor would be unable to reappoint Simmer.

While the Senate approved Simmer as the director for DHEC in 2021, he had a harder time gaining support in the Senate Medical Affairs committee last year to lead the newly created Department of Public Health. The committee voted 12-5 not to grant his appointment a favorable report in April 2025.

“I think that support has dissipated to the point that we are where we are now,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, told reporters Tuesday.

The vote Tuesday was “a unanimous vote that we need to encourage Dr. Simmer to find another position,” Massey said.

In the 2025 hearing, Simmer received flack from the committee’s conservative members over the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the former department’s encouragement of vaccination against the virus.

After the hearing last year, McMaster continued to support Simmer and said he hoped the Senate would “see through the falsehoods and mistruths being spread about his service to our state and nation” in a social media post.

The bill removing Simmer passed in the Senate on Tuesday. It still needs a formal third reading before heading to the House. If the House passes it, the bill would then go to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk.

While a third reading in the Senate is typically perfunctory, state Sen. Jeffrey Graham, D-Kershaw, contested the legislation after the vote Tuesday. Graham was not present for the vote.

In an interview Wednesday morning, Graham said removing Simmer could leave the state vulnerable and that the amendment was a “personal attack” rather than good governance.

The Department of Public Health did not provide information about Simmer’s reaction to the amendment. A spokesperson for McMaster’s office declined to comment on next steps for the position but cited the governor’s previous statements about Simmer.

A spokesperson for the Department of Public Health said in an email the agency would follow the law if enacted.

The governor could appoint an acting director before a new permanent leader is confirmed. Massey, who filed the amendment to remove Simmer, said the future date of the ouster allows the agency and the governor’s office to prepare for the change.

This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 5:37 PM.